Does a brutal murder teach any lessons? Can the state parks be saved? On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, the Obama Administration wants the states to “Race to the Top” by competing for $4.3 billion for education reform.

FROM THIS EPISODE

The murder of 17-year-old Lily Burk has received saturation coverage. Does a brutal crime contain any lessons about the failure of treatment programs or the risk of early parole? Could commercial sponsors save state parks from the Governor's line-item veto? On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, the Obama Administration wants the states to "Race to the Top" by competing for $4.3 billion for education reform. Is that enough to get teachers unions to change their minds on charter schools, merit pay or standardized tests to evaluate teacher performance?

"If there is anything that people can take away from this horrible tragedy, it's that life is fragile and they should live every minute of it fully." That's from Greg Burk and Deborah Drooz, the parents of Lily Burk, the 17-year old high school senior brutally murdered last Friday. Others are drawing conclusions of a different kind. The suspect, 50-year old Charles Samuel, was arrested for drinking in public and possessing a crack pipe. He was on parole and under a court order to complete a drug program. He's now charged with robbery, kidnap and murder and he could face a death sentence.

Between the legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger's line-item veto, 100 of California's 279 parks are at risk of closing. No list has been released yet, but park officials say to assume that every park is vulnerable. Elizabeth Goldstein is President of the California State Parks Foundation.